GEORGE TOWN, March 31 — The cash aid portal for licensed small traders and hawkers, set up by the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP), will be up and running starting tomorrow, one week earlier from April 6 as previously scheduled.

In a media conference broadcast live on the council’s Facebook page, Seberang Perai mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud confirmed that only traders and hawkers who had renewed their licences were eligible to apply.

"Unlicensed traders and hawkers are not eligible to apply for aid through the portal. This is to prevent the system from being congested and slow,” he explained.

The portal can be accessed at www.mbsp.gov.my and payments will be made through electronic fund transfers.

A total of 6,957 licensed small traders and hawkers across Seberang Perai will benefit from the one-off cash aid of RM500.

The assistance is part of the RM75 million Penang People’s Aid Package announced by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow last week, to assist 15 target groups involving over 400,000 recipients, affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. — Bernama